John Lewis is inviting charities, health and arts groups to use spare rooms in its department stores as part of a plan get more involved with local communities. The scheme was trialled in five stores last year, and is now being extended to 19 branches. Andy Street, managing director of John Lewis, said: "When we have the available space in our shops, we should open our doors to charitable organisations which are crying out for the space. We'd like our shops to become a place where the community is happy to spend time, for use as a genuine resource."

Friends of the Welsh National Opera are using a room in Cardiff, an amateur dramatics society meet in the Cambridge store while charities from cancer support groups to local hospices use rooms around the country for free.

In some cases John Lewis staff also offer their expertise and time to those who use the rooms. The Peace Hospice staff in Watford, for example have benefited from advice on how to arrange window displays in their charity shops.

The Community Rooms scheme demonstrates how businesses can build strong links with their local area without relying on financial hand-outs. At a time when spare cash is in short supply, such projects help develop a feel-good factor which drives both customer and staff loyalty.

Rachel Jarmy, a writer for the Between the Bars theatre group which meets in John Lewis' Cambridge store said having free space had helped it prepare its Cubicle Four production which won a string of prizes at the Cambridge Drama Festival and is now on its way to the Edinburgh Festival. She says: "It was quite exciting the first time we used the room, like being backstage at the shop. It's an enormous help. Rehearsal space is few and far between and rehearsing in someone's front room is not ideal."

Laura Singaravaloo, a volunteer at Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, said the free room at John Lewis' WestQuay store had enabled her to set up the charity's first support group in Southampton.

"I had no funds and I tried several places which said they couldn't offer us space or they wanted something in return. When John Lewis offered the room we jumped at the chance. This is the first support group of its kind in Southampton and it provides support and information for women going through a difficult time."

The community rooms scheme is part of a broader effort by John Lewis to expand the partnership concept its staff enjoy into local communities. The retailer not only hands staff, known as partners, a share of profits but also allows them to comment and vote on actions planned by the company.

The philosophy is extended beyond the door by community liaison co-ordinators stationed in every department store. They work with local charities and community groups to build long-term relationships and provide practical support via staff volunteers.

Street says "We take our role as an active member of the community seriously, and the Community Room is a simple idea designed to extend our support even further."

The retailer also strengthens links to local communities by allowing shoppers to vote on which causes their local department store supports.

The scheme, which has been running in Waitrose stores since 2008, launched in John Lewis stores at the beginning of this month. Shoppers are given a green token which they can use to choose between three charities by popping them into special collection boxes in the store. Every three months, each cause is given a share of a £3,000 donation proportional to the number of green tokens they receive. The first boxes appeared in John Lewis cafes and restaurants at the beginning of this month and further boxes will appear by shop floor tills in August. In all, 444 groups will receive donations through the voting scheme each year.

Rita McLean, community liason co-ordinator for the Glasgow store which trialled the voting system ahead of its launch, says: "Branches have always been involved in supporting the community with donations and partners' time. Now we have got a way of making that visible." She said that applications for support from local groups had risen, partly because of the potential donation but also because they saw the voting boxes as a chance to raise the profile of their group.

John Lewis's sister retailer Waitrose has given around £8m of its profit to more than 24,000 charities and organisations across the UK and Channel Islands since it began the scheme. The parent company as a whole spent £10.9m on community projects last year including social welfare, education, health and environmental causes as well as arts and culture. The largest proportion of the company's community investment is given in direct financial contributions. This is followed by time donated through volunteering projects and then in-kind donations of products and company resources such as community rooms.